On the Forecheck
The lonely snipers
by Forechecker on 10/14/08 at 04:26 PM ET
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Offense in the NHL is generally a team affair, and a couple weeks ago I looked at some of the closest sniper/playmaker pairings in the NHL. Today, however, I thought I’d shine a light on those goal scorers who succeed more through their own merit, without the benefit of a particular setup man.
The following table shows last year’s top goal scorers (20 goals+) in terms of independence, expressed as the maximum percentage of their goals set up by a particular playmaker. Taking last year’s leader, Niklas Hagman as an example, out of his 27 goals, nobody had the Primary Assist on more than 3 of them, or 11.1% of his total. In other words, he didn’t rely on a specific teammate to get him the puck.
| Scorer | Max Pairing | Tot Goals | Reliance |
| Niklas Hagman, DAL | 3 | 27 | 11.1% |
| Mike Modano, DAL | 3 | 21 | 14.3% |
| Olli Jokinen, FLA | 5 | 34 | 14.7% |
| John Madden, NJD | 3 | 20 | 15.0% |
| Daniel Briere, PHI | 5 | 31 | 16.1% |
| Ryan Getzlaf, ANA | 4 | 24 | 16.7% |
| Paul Stastny, COL | 4 | 24 | 16.7% |
| Scott Hartnell, PHI | 4 | 24 | 16.7% |
| Cory Stillman, CAR/OTT | 4 | 24 | 16.7% |
| Jeff Carter, PHI | 5 | 29 | 17.2% |
| Ilya Kovalchuk, ATL | 9 | 52 | 17.3% |
| Martin Erat, NSH | 4 | 23 | 17.4% |
| Mike Richards, PHI | 5 | 28 | 17.9% |
| Rick Nash, CBJ | 7 | 39 | 17.9% |
| David Booth, FLA | 4 | 22 | 18.2% |
| Alex Ovechkin, WSH | 12 | 65 | 18.5% |
| Marco Sturm, BOS | 5 | 27 | 18.5% |
| Johan Franzen, DET | 5 | 27 | 18.5% |
| Eric Staal, CAR | 7 | 37 | 18.9% |
| Chris Kunitz, ANA | 4 | 21 | 19.0% |
| Mike Comrie, NYI | 4 | 21 | 19.0% |
| Robert Lang, CHI | 4 | 21 | 19.0% |
| Patrick Kane, CHI | 4 | 21 | 19.0% |
| Nik Antropov, TOR | 5 | 26 | 19.2% |
| Alexander Semin, WSH | 5 | 26 | 19.2% |
| Brian Rolston, MIN | 6 | 31 | 19.4% |
| Patrick Sharp, CHI | 7 | 36 | 19.4% |
In addition, it’s worth looking at the top solo goal-scorers in the NHL last season. Unassisted goals represent a little over 5% of the overall total, and can often be the trademark of a gifted offensive player who also puts in a defensive effort, swiping the puck away from the opposition and turning it into a goal. For 2006-7 data, take a trip to ye olde blog.
| Scorer | Total Goals | Solo | Pct. |
| Pavel Datsyuk, DET | 31 | 6 | 19.4% |
| Vincent Lecavalier, TAM | 40 | 6 | 15.0% |
| Patrick O’Sullivan, LAK | 22 | 5 | 22.7% |
| Kristian Huselius, CGY | 25 | 5 | 20.0% |
| Mike Richards, PHI | 28 | 4 | 14.3% |
| Daniel Sedin, VAN | 29 | 4 | 13.8% |
| Alexei Kovalev, MTL | 34 | 4 | 11.8% |
| Rick Nash, CBJ | 39 | 4 | 10.3% |
| Marian Gaborik, MIN | 42 | 4 | 9.5% |
| Ilya Kovalchuk, ATL | 52 | 4 | 7.7% |
| Blake Comeau, NYI | 8 | 3 | 37.5% |
| Jason Ward, TAM | 8 | 3 | 37.5% |
| Eric Perrin, ATL | 12 | 3 | 25.0% |
| Alex Burrows, VAN | 12 | 3 | 25.0% |
| Mike Modano, DAL | 21 | 3 | 14.3% |
| Ryan Kesler, VAN | 21 | 3 | 14.3% |
| David Booth, FLA | 22 | 3 | 13.6% |
| Alexander Semin, WSH | 26 | 3 | 11.5% |
| Marian Hossa, ATL/PIT | 29 | 3 | 10.3% |
| Jeff Carter, PHI | 29 | 3 | 10.3% |
| Olli Jokinen, FLA | 34 | 3 | 8.8% |
| Jason Spezza, OTT | 34 | 3 | 8.8% |
| Daniel Alfredsson, OTT | 40 | 3 | 7.5% |
| Evgeni Malkin, PIT | 47 | 3 | 6.4% |
| Jarome Iginla, CGY | 50 | 3 | 6.0% |
Filed in: NHL Statistical Analysis | On the Forecheck | Permalink
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